Yes, you read this correctly, ‘work is worship!’ And ‘NO’ I am not about to force some religion upon you. What I am talking about is something I have noticed that happy people seem to possess. What they possess is a sense of service to humanity. Service without recognition and without ego is the kind of service I admire. They seem to worship their work!

Over the years I have heard so many people state that they will be happy when something occurs, a new job, a partner, a promotion and new car. The only problem with this goal is that when you achieve these goals/situations you soon realize they do not offer the lasting happiness you desired.

Happiness is a state of mind not a goal. You may be wondering where does work is worship fit. Well, if you can get past the petty problems in your life and rise above them, if you can seize the moment to be happy with whatever you have or your situation, only then can you begin to be happy. So how do we do that?

I don’t have a perfect life, partner, job, or material goods but I feel happy because whatever my situation I have choice on how I experience it. I must be one of the oldest people you know but I am also one of the youngest based my approach to life. I still have a sense of wonder about my life and the people in it. I still have so much to learn and so much to do. I will not feel victimized by my situation. How about you? Are you allowing your situation to determine your happiness?

I choose to make the most of each day, to start and end with happiness and a lot of happiness in the middle. If you are not happy in your life then maybe you are the problem. Maybe your perception has become your reality. So if you are the problem, then maybe you are also the solution.

My work is my worship for it allows me to serve each of you. It allows me to try harder when others may have given up. It allows me to face myself in the mirror and say that I gave as much as I could give. Each morning I ask myself how can I make a difference today, then at the end of the day I ask myself how I did. Some days I am better than others. When I have a day that does not go well, then I say to myself it is only one day. Tomorrow is another day. So I have another chance to worship.

Please excuse my rambling, but I feel this is important. I promise you this, if you adopt a sense of service, then you will indeed be worshiping and I know happiness will be achieved. Work indeed can be worship.

The Learning Circle is a simple and practical model of effective learning. It will help you to consistently get better and better. This model describes a series of four steps for us to follow, four capacities for us to develop, and the importance of guidance in helping us learn more effectively. The steps are repeated over and over in a cyclical fashion as we progress through life and work. This repetition gives us the opportunity to get better at learning.

The Four Steps

The four steps in the Learning Circle are Reflection, Learning, Planning, and Action. The four steps of the Learning Circle are followed one after another, over and over. Each time one goes through the four steps, it is called a Cycle. While it is possible to begin an endeavour with any of the four steps, a normal situation involves starting with the Reflection step.

The Reflection step comes after the Action step and before the Learning step. Here, as an individual, we will pause in our activities and gather data, impressions, history, stories, and any other observations about the work we have done in the prior Action step. These observations then become the raw material used in the Learning step. The Reflection step is critical so that we are as aware as possible of what we have done. Skipping this step puts us in danger of not understanding the cause of our results, the risks of our methods, and undermines our learning. In order to do this effectively, we must develop and exercise the capacity for Detachment.

The Learning step comes after the Reflection step and before the Planning step. Here, as an individual, we will carefully examine the observations about the work done that were developed in the Reflection step and "discover" new insights, skills, relationships, structures, failures or any other conceptual changes. In other words, learning. If we skip this step we run the danger of our learning becoming unconscious habits, rituals or traditions that do not actually serve our long-term interests. In order to do this effectively, we must develop and exercise the capacity of Understanding. These conceptual changes that we discover then become the raw material used in the Planning step.

The Planning step comes after the Learning step and before the Action step. Here we will apply the conceptual changes developed in the Learning step. We will apply them systematically to create a new plan of action. By skipping planning, our efforts would devolve into random fits and starts of activity. In order to do this step effectively, we must develop and exercise the capacity for Vision. The plans that we create then become the basis of the activities performed in the next Action step.

The Action step comes after the Planning step and before the Reflection step. Here we carry out the plans created in the Planning step. In order to do this effectively, we must have Volition. We are plunging into the unknown. Skipping action is the surest way to generate "academic" learning in the worst sense of the word. The activities of this step then become the raw material used in the Reflection Step.

The Learning Circle is not a strict process. Rather, it is a model that we can use to become more conscious of how we are learning. In fact, most of us use this process without even knowing it. For example, if you wish to learn to cook a new dish from a cookbook, you will likely follow the steps in the Learning Circle starting with Learning. You examine the cookbook to learn what to do, and what ingredients to use. Then you plan the actual cooking which may mean realizing that you need an ingredient or a cooking tool that you do not have. Once you have a plan based on what you have learned in the cookbook, you take action. You gather your ingredients and your tools. You start mixing, cutting, heating, cooling, or whatever the recipe calls for. Eventually you have completed everything in the cookbook's instructions. You are not yet done however. You look at, taste and share what you have created. This is Reflection: you gather data and impressions about the results of your work. And then you learn: Do you like what you made? Did you make a mistake? Do you think you might be able to make the recipe better? If you shared it, you may learn that the people you shared with do not like the taste of what you have made. Then, you will plan again: do it better, or decide not to try again. You have gone through the steps of the Learning Circle.

The Four Capacities
Each capacity is both a prerequisite for taking the associated step and increased by its utilization. Our inner conditions and capabilities have an effect on our environment, and likewise, by going through the Learning Circle, we develop these capabilities:

While at first we may not be strong in these capacities, by going through the Learning Circle, we will have opportunity to practice them.

Guidance

Central to the effectiveness of the Learning Circle is the concept of Guidance. We can see that without guidance or education, a child would not be able to progress in the development of knowledge, skills or capacities. Likewise, as adults, guidance plays a critical role in developing our capacity. Guidance can come from within yourself. Or guidance can come from without – we can call upon experts, we can read books or web sites. Inspiration can be thought of as a form of guidance. You suddenly have an idea that seems to come from nowhere.

The Learning Cycle will help you achieve all those goals you desire in your life.

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